day 4 and 5

we woke up late on the floor of jeri's living room, making this our first night of real sleep. mike and i badly wanted to climb to get some exercise so we went to "the spot" which in my opinion has got to the be the best climbing gym in the country. we climbed hard and then i got back and tried to play guitar and freaked myself out cuz i couldn't even grip the neck, but as the night progressed my strength came back. the laughing goat cafe was beautiful and everyone was overly nice. they had really good tea as well. i kinda realized that people dont really like to pay for cds anymore for some reason so i gave the rest of them away at this show making "between trees" officially out of print. then we proceeded to get drunk at a micro brewery a few blocks down at a place called mountain sun. the beer was excellent and the music was perfect. brian got on the drums for a song also.

after a bout three hours of sleep mike and i departed boulder at about 6:30am. i was in a jam band mood after the previous night so i blasted some phish for the first 300 miles or so. in a nutshell mike and i drove 1200 miles in one sitting stopping only for gas and a brief jog in the salt flats of western utah. it was exhausting but i loved it. thanks a lot southwest

day two and three

so we drove forever and ever through new mexico and it was nothing, nothing, nothing and then suddenly appears this huge chunk of lights and asphalt called albuquerque. we checked in to our baller status motel 6 and then watched south park and ate chicken wings until heading downtown to play the second show. downtown alb is a lot like LA cuz theres nowhere to park. we set up shop at the atomic cantina and suckered the bartending into giving us free tecate tall boys. apparently you get more drunk in albuquerque because of the altitude, which made for a fun set. there was a band called mr. gnome that had been on tour for five months straight that we loved very much.

the next day was nothing but driving. we stopped in a few random places and thought we were being followed by some sketch ball. we also realized that high altitude makes it harder to skate. finally after 1,000,000 hours of driving we made it to boulder where we met an old friend jeri. mike, jeri, jeri's boyfriend brian and i went out to see the sites of boulder, consumering several beers and dancing to james brown covers in the process. boulder is amazing and i want to live here. now im eating tillamook cheddar and getting stoked for tomorrow (a day with no driving.)

mini-tour, day one

i'm sitting in a super 8 motel room with an empty boone's farm bottle to my left. ive got two of my best friends in the room so life couldn't be better. eastern california and western arizona are terrible and boring and the 10 east is one big straight line. i began to change lanes just to not get bored. mike and i sang a lot of at the drive-in and tried to scream like girls and then we picked up collin and i guess i played a show somewhere in this whole mess. played the trunkspace with some good acts but i was far too tired to really feel great about the set. it ended up being very short and i suppose a decent way to start the trip off. mr. diversidero blew our minds (they sound like queen mixed with black sabbath mixed with tenacious d) and everyone was very nice and attentive. we returned to the room and ordered pizza and had a junk food night with some malt sangria. tomorrow we depart for albuquerque and im looking forward to some solid mexican food. till then....

Travels

I keep hearing about people's journeys and it is making me want to leave town so badly. I learned something when I was traveling with my homeboys Amestory: touring is better than anything. Yeah, its stressful and tiring but it sure beats selling groceries and paying bills (I guess bills still need to get paid.)

So my good friend Nick just sent me an image from Mexico that makes me smile to no end. Go get yourself the new Radiohead also. Pay more than zero pounds for it!

night

im updating this solely because i know no one reads this and i find it amusing cuz i've had a few beers tonight. so living back home is extremely boring but i've got a new group together already. my man ryan qualls will be blowing everyone's minds on drums. i've played with this kid in 2 (technically 3) other bands and its weird that it has taken me this long to sit and down and write some serious music with this guy. on the four string i have stolen max (don't yet know his last name) from the jazz/indie group indian giver. im stoked to say the least. we will have our first show together november second at the verity room in canoga park with our buddies swordfights. a week beofer that i will be playing my last so-cal acoustic show (for a little while) on the 23rd at the verity room as well.

other news: i can't wait to get the hell out of this place so im taking a trip east next month to play a few shows:

11/15- phoenix, az. trunkspace
11/16- albuquerque, nm. atomic cantina
11/18- boulder, co. the laughing goat

if anyone knows of any rocks to climb around these places, let me know. in twelve hours i will begin an eight hour stint of stocking milk and yogurts on a shelf. somebody please pay me to play guitar asap! samuel smith oatmeal stout is the best thing ever created...

south

the news: finally a new song has been written after months of writer's block. the reason: i've moved home, which has inspired some ironic lyrics and awkward melodies. my lease ended at my place in Santa Cruz and after a hell week of moving i have come back home to write and get as out of debt as i possibly can. Justin did a few trips with a bluegrass/punk group called The Curse Is Cast and Cameron is now singing for a group called Mountain Animal Hospital. i loved playing with these guys so much but i just couldn't bring myself to stay in that city any longer. i feel like im on hiatus from anything real at the moment. my parents have an endless supply of junk food and beer and a huge tv with literally hundreds of movies. i will most likely become fat and lazy. if anyone ever sees me looking like a typical out of shape Westlake guy, give me a swift punch in the face and tell me to go home and write a song. i really don't think this will happen though.
Anyway, good luck Cameron and Justin. i love you guys and wish you the best. I will be back up north for some acoustic shows sooner than later. In the meantime i'll be at a new place called The Cage in Agoura, CA on the 29th of September. until then...

The Return

First of all I want to thank everyone who was a part of this trip. Especially my parents, Cameron's parents and Justin's mom. Also all the bands that shared the stage with us and all our homies for housing us. Although I think the three of us are pretty mentally drained from a few awful shows, the trip all in all was a truly great thing. I don't want to eat doritos for a long time though. Anyway, here are some pictures.

All this crap and three humans in a Volvo

Alex from KCPR


Cameron honestly snaps his fingers 100 times a day

This wall was asking for it

The Verity Room, Canoga Park, CA


We're a hardcore band now



Just because we're on tour doesn't mean we can't keep fit, Ventura, CA

We found a bunch of right-footed sandals in a dumpster behind The Alpine

Trucks falling in love while stuck in traffic on the way to Fresno

The long, beautiful drive to Reno


This face pretty much sums up how that show went